Legend of the Divine Warrior
by ClasslessToast
Summary: After Armin receives a book about an ancient hero who slayed the first Titans, Eren is awoken in the middle of the night by a strange conversation between a priest and a hunchbacked figure. What is it they speak of? And who is the boy to awaken it? Give this kind of a one shot a try. Chapter 4 is now up! Chapter 4 may please a lot of people! Rated T just to be safe.
1. The Divine Warrior

Armin, Mikasa, and Eren sat around a fire, the ash and flare flying into the air and disappearing into the darkness. It had been a few days after all hell seemed to break loose after the Colossal Titan had appeared again and destroyed the wall yet again. Armin sighed as he watched the flames dance happily. Seemingly broken from her deep train of though, Mikasa looked up to him, catching his attention. They both looked to Eren, who kept his gaze locked on the flame's center. Mikasa frowned at the sight of Eren's disappointment. She never wanted him to feel as low as he was. After loosing several friends, Eren seemed to have changed for the worst it seemed. Armin looked a little restless, as if the silence wanted him to take some form of action. Eren, looking from the flame, noticed this. "Is there something wrong?"

Armin stopped fidgeting and looked at the two. He sighed as he thought of how to describe what was on his mind. He finally found the words to say; "Eren, do you remember that book from a long time ago? The one about what it was like outside of the walls?"

Eren nodded his head, recalling all the stories and imagery, but one thing made him stop for a moment. He remembered a ripped page in the book that had annoyed him for a while. Armin cracked a small smile as he pulled a small book out of a bag. "You see, I wasn't able to find the page, nor a book similar to that one, but one of those priest guys gave me a book that he explained as 'The answered to your questions'. I laughed at first, but I read a little bit of it. It is actually pretty awesome. Want me to read it to you two?"

Eren and Mikasa exchanged glances, then turned back to Armin. Mikasa nodded her head, as did Eren. Armin's smile grew wider as he began to read the title of the selection;

"The Legend of the Divine Warrior, a common folklore...

Before the time of A.D. began, there once was a civilization known as Rome. Humans lived happily and carelessly within the city. It was a time before Titans, and a time when man battled one another over food, land, and an attractive mate. But unlike many of the city, there was one man by the name of Maximus Duronius Ligur. He was a boy of poverty and starvation; his parents died and his brother rose to the high ranks of the military, leaving Maximus the low and orphan life. Living in any place he could find, he adopted the life style of constantly moving and hunger.

One day, at the age of 15, he found himself living outside of the wall surrounding the king's home, hoping that the rich would loose money over the walls for him to buy food. Unexpectedly, a figure approached him as he laid on his side, grabbing at his stomach like it was fading to dust. In a feminine voice, the figure asked if he was okay. Looking up to the figure, he saw a young girl, roughly the same age he was, on her knees hovering over him. In her hand, was a piece of bread and a flask of water. She handed him the bread and water with a smile. As he ate the bread and drank the water, he noticed how her eyes seemed to sparkle, and her beauty suggested she was a part of the higher class. When he finished, he thanked her and..."

Armin was cut off by one of the other cadets. "So, is this story time?" The three looked at him angrily as he slowly shuffled away. Eren and Mikasa turned back to Armin, but stood up. "I think it would be best if we finish this story later; maybe tomorrow?" Eren suggested to Armin. He nodded, folded the page, then stood up with the closed book in hand at his side. They then began walking towards their sleeping quarters and prepared for bed.

Late that night, Eren was awoken by a light coming from outside the window. Cracking his eyes, he made out two figures. One seemed to be an elderly person hunched over a lantern. The other was one of the priests that everyone seemed to ignore and push away. A look of concern filled his gaze as the hunched over figure rose the lantern closer to his face. Eren could fairly hear the conversation as he moved closer to the window. Easing into the conversation, he heard in a raspy woman's voice "Is the boy ready to find _it_?"

The priest nodded and pointed to the window. 'Shit,' Eren thought to himself, 'did they see me?' Keeping his eyes on the figure, he explained how he gave a boy the book to read it to the boy. Eren stopped for a moment. 'Who is supposed to find... what?' He stopped as he looked to where Armin was sleeping. The book was on the floor under his bed. Slowly creeping over, getting the book, and sneaking back over to his bed. He opened the book to the folded page. Suddenly, the light outside disappeared, leaving the room dark and impossible to read, even in the moon light. He sighed as he began to scan the room from his right to his left. But he stopped when the sight of an elderly woman filled his gaze. He jumped back and tried to scream, but not a squeak came from him. The woman had a horrifying smile on her face, showing what little teeth she had left. She put a figure over her lips, telling him to be quiet. She looked around the room and motioned to Eren for him to follow her. She began to walk towards the door, looking back at Eren and stopping for him to keep up.

His legs were weak under his weight as he followed the woman. He slowly took a few steps until the woman opened the door and stepped out into the open world. Eren stopped, and thought about what the woman could possibly want. Could it have something to do with the legend? OR what _it_ was. He then looked at the book that he had forgotten about it being in his hand. He sighed. He did want to know what was going on, but what could the woman want? He decided to follow the woman. As he stepped out of the door the woman had vanished into thin air. He looked around for the woman when the sun rose in the distance. Feeling a bit of amnesia, he went back into the room and sat the book under Armin's bed. 'I could have sworn it was midnight when I was awoken...'


	2. Family

Walking back in, Eren was surprised that everyone was up with worried looks on their faces. Catching a glimpse of the shock on Armin's face, Eren found himself surrounded by his friends, talking all at once making it hard for him to make out what they were saying. Mikasa shushed them as she stepped through the wall of people and close to Eren. Trying to keep her cool, she asked in a low voice "Where were you last night?"

Eren looked at her oddly as he looked at the others, who were also curious as to where he was. He shrugged his shoulders, unaware of what had happened. Mikasa's eyes dropped slightly from direct eye contact with his. Her eyes seemed to water as she shook her head. The others watched as Mikasa walked away and out of the door. Turning back to him, they bombarded him with questions that he could not answer. Quickly and swiftly escaping out of the door, he spotted Mikasa sitting on a log that they had sat on only hours ago. Walking closer, he saw a figure in the corner of his eye. Although he fought the urge to observe the figure more clearly, he sat next to Mikasa, her gaze emotionless as she watched the sun rise higher from the horizon. Eren sighed as he looked compassionately at her. She started to blush as she looked over to him. Before she had the chance to see him blush, he looked to the sunrise.

"Eren...?" Mikasa began slowly.

"Yes?"

She blushed even more as she rubbed her arm shyly. "Eren, I thought something happened to you while you walked aimlessly out into the woods. I... thought the worst had happened, and I-"

Eren placed his hand on hers that rested on the gap of the log in-between each other. Trying his hardest not to blush, he smiled to her, comforting her the best he could. "I would never abandon my family." She began to blush significantly less when Eren said that. Though they were family, she felt something more about Eren. She began to think back when Eren gave her the scarf she treasured for many years. "Family..." She mumbled under her breath. Eren's smile began to fade at the sight of this, but stood shortly after and patted her on the shoulder, walking away and leaving Mikasa in a deep coping thought; "Family..."

"Armin, can I see that book?" Eren walked up to Armin, who sat alone inside on his bed. "Yeah, I was about to read some more myself." He reached underneath the bed and pulled out the book, opening it to the folded page to begin reading more aloud, when Eren stopped him. "Could _I _read it?" Armin nodded his head slowly as he handed the book to Eren. "Thanks!" Hurrying off, Eren exited the building and rushed off. 'What is wrong with him? First he goes missing under night's cloak and now he is fascinated by that book.' "Hmmm..."

Sitting, back against a wall of a building, Eren began to read more; "When he finished, he thanked her and gave the empty flask back to her. She smiled as he sat up with his back to the wall. She sat down next to him. She giggled as she watched him awkwardly fix himself. He was astonished by her laugh, smiling as she leaned closer to him. He felt a bit of a cool breeze as the sun fell from the sky and into the far mountains. She laid her head against his shoulder, causing him to blush. "I've never seen a night quite from _this _perspective. Eyeing her oddly, Maximus was puzzled by her words; 'What do you mean?'

'Well,' she began, 'I'm not from around here. I'm...' She hesitated to tell him the truth. 'I'm princess Anne, princess of Rome.'

Maximus blushed as he realized the trouble he would be in if he were caught with her, but, after a moment of studying her, she was too alone and vulnerable to the outside world. He sighed as he invited her to stay with him, at least for the night. A smile crossed her face as her happiness infected him. As the night progressed, they slept comfortably against a wall, where she rested her body against Maximus's. He watched as the stars passed by the two. 'Why me, of all people poor and homeless, why did you gift me with such happiness, yet such a risk, Jupiter?' He thought as he slowly shut his eyes and drifted to sleep. He had a strange dream that night; giants terrorized the city, eating the humans that lived in peace and harmony. But all he could do was watch in terror, unable to move, as the beasts came closer and closer. One giant, towering high above him, had a horrifying smile across it's face as it grabbed Anne from behind him. Feeling a sudden burst of strength, he reached out for her, and before the giant could eat her, Maximus jumped awake from his nightmare. Anne still on his chest, and the darkness covering them, Maximus calmed himself down and closed his eyes with a dreamless rest."

'Could those in his dream,' Eren thought almost aloud, 'could they have been Titans?' Snapping back to reality, Eren was interrupted by one of the other cadets, telling him that they were going to help the cannon men with the guns. He nodded as he folded the page he stopped on and followed the cadet back to the sleeping quarters. As he walked, Eren couldn't stop thinking about the city of Rome, and Maximus. Why did he feel so connected to this Maximus character, as if he had met him before? Eren shook it off as he gave Armin the book back.

Armin, Eren, and Mikasa walked together in silence as they went to help the cannon men set the guns up. Eren couldn't help but notice the cold, dead look in Mikasa's eyes, as if she had been greatly disappointed. Eren thought to himself for a moment about Maximus and Anne, then turned back to Mikasa; "Hey, Mikasa, I... I have to tell you something." She looked to him, curious as to what he was going to say. Before he could speak, the cadets began to get divided into group for different sections of the wall. When the three were put in the same group, Mikasa moved closely to Eren. "What were you going to tell me?"

"Oh, I'll, I'll tell you later, okay?"

She sighed, giving a nod. They used their 3D Maneuver gear to reach the top of the wall, where they began to help position the cannons and prepare the ammunition.

'Family...'


	3. The Figure Returns

A light breeze swept over him as Eren placed the last round for the cannon he was assigned to at the very top of the stack. Wiping the sweet from his forehead as he looked over the wall. Countless Titans as far as the eye could see; many lined up at the wall scratching at it, trying to get the humans. Eren sighed as he thought about the book more and more. 'It's only a petty love story.' He thought as Armin approached him.

"Well," Armin started, "We've set up our defenses. We are ready for anything."

Eren watched in silence as the Titans clawed at the wall. "Armin...?"

"Yeah?"

Eren looked off into the distance, past the walls, past the Titans, and saw grassy fields and trees seeming to dance happily in the distance. "Do you believe in life after death?"

Armin was caught completely off guard to Eren's question. Unable to answer, he scooted Eren away from the edge and scratched the back of his head. "Well, Eren, I don't know. I mean, in a way yes; if there is someone left to remember you, you will never die. But I don't know if a dead carcass could walk along side the living if that's what you are thinking." Eren pointed to the Titans, now changing his gaze to Armin. "Then what are those? Blow their head off and they are supposed to be dead, but they are not." Eren lowered his arm to his side as he looked at the other cadets. "Isn't it true, that we are all destined to die, one way or another? The longer we are alive, the quicker death will arrive?"

Armin was surprised. Why was Eren acting like this? Eren had been strong until now, but why was it now of all times? 'It must be something about the book.' Armin concluded. "Eren, do you want to look through that book? I think you read something in there that-" Eren gripped Armin's arm tightly as he fought the urge to it him. "What, do you think I'm crazy or something?!" His voice echoed loudly as the other cadets turned to see the commotion. Eren finally took otice of what he was doing and let Armin's arm go. "I'm sorry." He mumbled. Armin rubbed his arm as he stared at Eren, horrified by what had just happened. Mikasa stepped up behind Eren, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Let's go get the book."

It took them a while before they arrived at the sleeping quarters where the book had been left under Armin's bed only hours ago. Stepping in, Armin hurried to his bed and looked under it for the book. "Hey guys, I think something is wrong." They hurried over next to him, but noticed the only thing in Armin's hand, was dust. "I could have sworn I put it back here before we went to the wall!"

"Or maybe I have it right here." A raspy elder's voice came from behind them. Turning slowly, they saw a hunchbacked figure with a unlighted lantern in one hand, the book in the other. Unable to she it's face, Eren stood slowly, recalling the same figure from the night before. "Wh, what are you?" Eren's voice was almost shrill as his body seemed to shake out of fear. The figure placed the lantern on the bed in front of Eren, Armin, and Mikasa. Slowly opening the book to a page far past where they were. It began to read, slowly;

"Though death did the hero apart from his lover, Maximus's soul and skeleton can be found in the mountain of Titan. Legend has it that a boy will return to his resting place, and find hope whereas if the Titans return."

Eren watched as the figure closed the book and sat in next to the lantern. "But, how will I find his resting place? I don't even know where Rome is!" Eren blurted out, catching himself and taking a step back. From the darkness of te cloak, Eren could see a smile forming. "You silly boy," it laughed darkly as it pointed to the ground, "you sleep over his resting place."

Eren realized at that moment, that they did stay on top of a flattened mountain top. An old mine shaft was left over from before the Titans appeared. The three of them looked to the floorboards, then returned their gaze to an empty space where the figure once stood. Though the lantern and the book still remained on the bed, they looked around in shock, as the figure had disappeared into thin air. Armin and Mikasa stood slowly behind Eren as he kept a dead, horrified look on his face. Armin slowly stumbled to the door, which had been closed the entire time. Mikasa stood next to Eren, looking into his eyes. Eren began to calm down, but his heart was still racing. Mikasa thought for a moment if _he _was the one the figure spoke of. She sat down on Armin's bed and gripped Eren's arm softly. Turning back to her, he had a confused look on his face. "You should sit down for a moment."

Sitting down, he looked at Mikasa awkwardly as she scooted closer to him. She began to blush as she began to swing her legs above the floor. "Eren," she began mumbled shyly, "you... you have been a big part of my life for a few years now and..." She stopped, her gaze off to the side. Eren began to blush as he thought of what she was going to say. 'What does she want to tell me?' He thought, nearly aloud. Thinking of what she would say, he placed his arm around her shoulder, causing her to look at him, her cheeks seemed to glow red as he pulled her closer. He smiled at her; she smiled back. "Eren..."

"Oh, do you two want some alone time?"

Armin had walked back in the room after investigating the outside for the figure. Jumping to their feet, Eren and Mikasa awkwardly moved closer to Armin. "Oh no, it's fine." Eren sputtered out. Armin shook it off as he grabbed the lantern and book. "Well then, lets go see this spirit then!" Eren and Mikasa kept eye contact as Armin walked past them. Eren noticed her eyes seem to sparkle as she smiled.

They slowly made their way down the mountain path until they found the mine's entrance. Armin had lighten the lantern and handed it to Eren; "You are the one to awaken it. You should go first." Eren slowly entered the mine, followed by Mikasa, Armin following her. The further in, it seemed, the more the echoes from water dripping from the ceiling and the darker it would get. Holding the lantern up high, Eren noticed bodies laying around them against the walls of the shaft. The old style of armor proved that they had died long, long ago. They seemed to have been looking for something, but what? Finally, they stumbled upon a stone that had been tossed to the side, and an open entrance to a huge room. Walking slowly to what looked like a stand for a candle, Eren placed the lantern on it. Suddenly, torches caught alight all around the room, lighting the huge tomb. And upon a huge seat-looking piece of stone, was a huge skeleton with large and ancient armor upon it.

A haunting disembodied voice echoed throughout the tomb; "Who dare disturb my rest?"


	4. Awakening

"Who, who's there?" Armin squeaked as the room began to feel cold and uneasy. While Armin and Mikasa looked around curios as to where the voice came from, Eren kept his eyes on the skull that rested upon the dead shoulders of the giant. "Are you Maximus, the Divine Warrior?" Eren asked the skeleton fearlessly.

"I am, but who are you?" The voice echoed again. The room became even colder, sending shivers down their spines. The room seemed to shake and tilt as Eren proceeded to talk to the voice. "I am Eren Jaeger! I am the boy who is said to awaken you from your rest if the Titans came back!" The room now became seemingly frozen as everything stopped. The echo, the shaking, the cold air around them, all seemed to stop at once. After a moment, the huge skeleton's jaw that had been dangling open shut, causing dust to fall from the skull. They all watched in awe as the skeleton began to rise from it's seat and stand, it's scabbard dangled by it's waist. Dust made a thin cloud around the ancient skeleton as blue lines grew from the heart in it's chest that had been covered by it's armor. Slowly muscles and tissue formed all over the body. And finally, skin formed under the armor and clothes. And there in front of them was a fifteen meter tall human who had arisen from the dead.

The man looked down upon the three of them, the now dim light from the torches surrounded them all. Armin nearly fainted at the sight of the man. Mikasa stood in horror, gripping Eren's arm from fright. Eren, on the other hand maintained eye contact with the being. "Maximus," Eren began carful of his words, "how did you manage to defeat Titans before you became..." Unsure of what to call the state he was in, the giant kneeled down close to the three, suggesting the term "Immortal?"

Eren nodded as Maximus's voice echoed throughout the tomb; "After being gifted by Jupiter and Mars's gifts of size and strength, I soon found out that the lower part of the back of their neck. Though the average mortal could not hit this point easily, I used my blade gifted from Ares to slice the creatures to the gate of Pluto's realm."

Confused by who Jupiter, Mars, and Pluto, Eren nodded his head. He believed that Maximus was, or at least once was, a human. Mikasa's grasp on Eren had weakened as she built up the courage to face the giant. Though many questions circled around in Eren's head, he decided to ask this one now; "With all due respect, Maximus, how are you going to get out of this mountain?"

He answered quickly, as if the answer was clear enough. "I will shrink down to my mortal height." As he had said, he opened a flask with a sparkling blue liquid inside that he had pulled from his belt and drank it, shrinking down until he stood at about 6'1". "Now," he began to walk to the hole they had entered through, turning back to eye the three, "let's go see the outside world, shall we?"

After a moment, they exited the mine, Maximus kneeling to feel the grass brush in his hand softly. Looking up to see the sun, his eyes fell upon the walls that towered high above them. "So this is what humanity has come to, cattle in a pin?" The three cadets watched as he slowly rose to his feet, turning to face them. A look of disappointment filled his gaze. Eren watched as the ancient took another look at the wall, then returning his gaze to them. "Where are the 'Titans'?"

Eren explained to him that the Titans were over the wall, but they had managed to break through with the aid of the Colossal Titan. Maximus nodded his head as he listened. "But the only way to defeat them is with this thing around our waists; 3D Maneuver gear." Maximus studied the almost alien technology. He was baffled by the design and even more amazed by the thoughts of what it could do. "You see, we have only found this way to defeat the Titans, but we were hoping you could show us how the ancients did it." Maximus sighed as he though of how to break the news to them. "Well, you see kid, the Titans were the downfall of many ancient civilizations; the Egyptians, the Greeks, hell, even the Roman empire fell to it's knees. All we could do was knock them off their feet and kill them that way. But that was a hard tactic to use. We tried boiling oil, we tried baristas, but nothing seemed to bring them down effectively. We-"

"But how did you survive, huh? And what about Anne?!" Eren blurted out at Maximus. His gaze turned cold and pale as he recalled what had happened. Tears began to build in his eyes as he shook his head. "It was late one night; one of the guard towers had been destroyed and the Titans were flooding in. Before I was drug to the front lines, I had kissed her and sent her off on my horse. All I could do was watch as she rode off into the distance with enough supplies to last her a while. I never saw her again. I don't even know if she died by a Titan." Eren's frustration had lightened as he watched Maximus slowly begin to break down. "It was, it was after all my allies had died that I found myself in a thick fog. I found in the fog a light from a lantern, and an elderly hunchbacked woman who guided me to Jupiter, who gave me my immortality and my strengths. No matter how much I asked, neither of them told me what happened to her, kid. Neither one."

Maximus had looked to the wall with anger building inside of him. "That's why I decided to kill all the Titans, for her safety that I couldn't even keep for her." He mumbled angrily.

Eren patted him on the shoulder, looking back to Mikasa, who blushed slightly. "_We_ want to kill the Titans to protect the ones _we _love. You and I, we are alike in some ways." Maximus chuckled for a moment, then turned to Eren, a determined grin on his face; "Let's go kick some Titan ass."

"First, lets teach you how to use 3D Maneuver gear." Armin suggested as they began to walk up the mountain path. As they walked, Eren noticed that Mikasa was walking slowly behind them. He stopped to walk alongside her. He noticed she was blushing and greatly shy. "What did you mean by the ones you love?"

Eren took her hand, causing her to stop. He stood in front of her, his body close to hers. She was surprised that Eren had done such a thing. "What I meant," he whispered loud enough so she could hear him, "was that I love you, Mikasa." Armin and Maximus had stopped and turned to check on them, catching a glimpse of the young couple meeting in a kiss. Maximus nudged Armin, motioning for them to leave the couple alone for now. They continued up the path and around the corner, leaving Mikasa and Eren alone.

"Eren..." Mikasa smiled as they began to walk, hand in hand, up the path.


End file.
